Exam Flashcards
APA Dictionary of Psychology (Religion)
Religion is a set of beliefs or practices surrounding worship of a particular deity or deities
Allport (1979)
Prejudice is the favourable or unfavourable opinion of a particular person or thing based on no prior experience
APA Dictionary of Psychology (2019) - Discrimination
Discrimination is the unfair treatment of a particular group based on factors like sex, sexual orientation, or race
Batson (1993) - Introduction
Out of 23 studies, 19 showed that religiousness is positively associated with prejudice, only 1 study found a negative association
Batson (1993) - Quest
Coined the idea of Quest, in which a person continually questions their beliefs in search for a truth
Yilmaz et al (2016)
Analytical thinking prevents prejudice
Hunsberger and Jackson (2005)
Quest is weakly associated with tolerance for racial groups and homosexual people
Struening (1957)
People who go to church, but not frequently, tend to be more prejudiced. With more church attendance, prejudice goes down
Billiet (1995)
Church attendance has a small but significant effect on negative attitude towards out-groups
Goldfried and Miner (2002)
Religious fundamentalism is a direct threat to Quest
Altemeyer (2009)
Children who attended fundamental church as children were more likely to hold prejudice views
Galen (2012)
People are only altruistic towards members of their in-group, as it increases social desirability
Pettigrew and Tropp (2008)
Altruism reduces prejudice towards an out-group as it increases knowledge of the out-group and decreases anxiety
Bennett and Einolf (2017)
Did a survey across 126 countries. Religious people were more likely to help a stranger, especially those of minority religions
Tsang et al (2021)
Positive relationship with helpfulness and religion, but usually for in-group rather than out-group
Leuba (1912)
Did a meta-analysis of all definitions of religion and being religious. Defined through three parts
1. The recognition of a mystery pressing for interpretation
2. A feeling of dependence on a higher being
3. A need to be forgiven of sins that have occurred over life
Benson et al (1990)
Meditation has been found to change metabolism in the brain for Buddhists
Peterson and Pbert (1992)
Meditation has been found to reduce anxiety
Alexander et al (1989)
Meditation reduces age related cognitive declines
Beauregard et al (2006)
Orbitofrontal cortex is associated with prayer
Newberg et al (2003)
Prefrontal cortex and parietal lobes is associated with prayer and meditation
King et al (2009)
In the two player ‘co-ordination game’, the person who acts first likely assumes a leader role while others are likely to follow as long as there is the same pay-off
Bulbilia (2004)
Prisoner’s Dilemma - Adding supernatural consequences of heaven and hell increased co-operation in what punishments should happen
Ferguson et al (1997) and Harris (1989)
Guilt is developed between the ages of 7 and 10, after other emotions like sadness and happiness
Regan (1971)
Guilt makes people more altruistic towards others
Carlsmith and Gross (1969)
Guilt makes people more compliant in a group setting
Amodio et al (2007)
Guilt causes asymmetry between the two hemispheres of the brain, causing self-regulation and reparative behaviours
